A Life Collapsing
by amykaye
Summary: *UPDATED* Katherine finds out her parents were on one of the planes that crashed into the WTC.
1. The Premonition

  
Early Tuesday morning, Daisy woke up with a start. She had a bad dream. No, not bad - unsettling. She dreamed she and the others were at some sort of museum. All of a sudden an alarm went off, signaling an earthquake. They all ran outside and were under what looked like a huge suspension bridge.  
"What are we doing under a bridge during an earthquake?" Daisy asked. They understood what she meant and they ran back inside to a room of all windows. Then she saw the ground being kicked up, rushing towards her. It reminded her of the scene in Armageddon where the meteor hit in France. Before the ground blew up around them, she woke up. She sat up in bed, trying to breathe normally. She looked around the room, calming herself at the sound of her roommates steady breathing. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 2:45. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the dream. She rarely dreamed and when she did they never had a storyline. She laid back down and tried to forget about it, but she couldn't shake the feeling something was about to happen.  
  
Later that morning it seemed as if were hard for everyone to get up. Kat was already up before the alarm went off, and was going to each of the beds and getting them to wake up. Shelby and Juliette snapped at her, like they normally did when she tried to wake them up like that. Daisy got up before Kat had a chance to shake her and went to take a shower. A little later they met up with the boys and walked to the lodge for breakfast. Daisy walked by herself behind everyone.  
"Whats up, Daisy?" Ezra asked, walking beside her.  
"Nothing," Daisy said, staring at the ground.  
"You just seem off in space."  
"Well, I had an unsettling dream last night. I never have dreams. I keep thinking something is going to happen."  
As soon as she said that, Shelby tripped on a root and fell, but Scott and Auggie caught her before she hit the ground. Ezra laughed.  
"Maybe you should give up your dream of mortuary cosmetics and be a psychic instead."  
Daisy had to laugh. Nothing was going to happen, she was just a little shaken from her dream. It was pretty funny that Shelby fell right after she said that, and she laughed to herself as they walked into the lodge  
  
They got their food and sat down at their usual table.  
"How did you sleep last night, Shel?" Scott asked.  
"Good, but I would have slept better if Katherine didn't have to shake me awake," Shelby said.  
"Well, it was either me or Sophie singing that Cattle Call song. I thought I was doing you a favor," Kat said.  
"She doesn't sing the Cattle Call song!"  
"She does. You've just never heard it because I always get you up on time."  
"Whatever."  
Kat knew Shelby didn't really mind being woken up and laughed along with the others.  
Peter, Sophie, and Roger came in and went around to different tables. Peter headed over to them, and knelt down between Scott and Shelby.  
"You guys, classes are cancelled today. I want you to go to your dorms and stay there until someone comes to get you," he said softly.  
"Why? Why are classes cancelled?" Shelby asked.  
"We'll explain later." Peter stood up and went to another table. The group looked at each other, confused.  
"I guess we'll find out later. But we have a free morning ahead of us!" Auggie said.  
"Yeah, but we have to stay in our dorms," Juliette said.  
"They'll never know if we go shoot some hoops for a few minutes," Scott said.  
Juliette shook her head. "I don't understand guys and sports."  
As they left, they noticed a majority of the school were hanging around in the front room. Whatever Peter was going to tell them, he was going to tell everyone else first. Daisy had a sudden flash from her dream and started. Ezra put a hand on her shoulder and lead her out behind the others. Peter and Sophie watched them from the doorway to the kitchen.  
"I think I'm making the right decision by telling them separately. I mean, two of them are affected. Its very...scary...that two of our students are affected by it, but scarier they're in the same group," Peter said.  
"I think you're making the right decision, too," Sophie said, hugging Peter. They waited a few more minutes then went to talk to the other groups.  
  


This has taken me a very long time to write. Please review and tell me what you'll think. I'm almost done with the next part and will post it as soon as I can.


	2. What Happened?

A/N: The dream Daisy had at the beginning of the first chapter, well, that was my dream the morning of Sept. 11. I'm not kidding. Spooky, huh.   
  
The girls went back to the dorm and the guys snuck off to play a little basketball.  
"So what are we going to do the whole morning?" Juliette asked, flopping on her bed.  
"What ever you want. I'm going to do my homework," Kat said.  
"Oh aren't we the studious one?" Shelby asked. "Why do you always follow the rules?"  
"Why do you always break them?" Kat shot back. Shelby didn't answer. "Besides, I don't always follow the rules. I have a ton of stuff to do and I want some free time this weekend so I can have some time to myself."  
"Whatever floats your boat."  
Katherine ignored her and sat at her desk, opened her book and started to do some homework.  
The others followed suit since they were confined to the dorm for the morning.  
  
A little before noon Sophie came in to get them. They knew something was up so they followed her silently to the lodge. Kat, Juliette, and Daisy sat on the couch, Ezra and Auggie on chairs, and Shelby squeezed in with Scott on another chair.  
Sophie sat in a chair pulled up in front of them. Peter paced around behind her, deep in thought. They waited. Finally, Peter stopped and stood next to Sophie. Sophie stood up.  
"This morning our country was attacked. At 8:45 New York time, a plane crashed into the north World Trade Center. About 20 minutes later another plane crashed into the south World Trade Center. Around 9:45 another plane crashed into the Pentagon," he said slowly. He knew he should always look his students in the eye, but this time he couldn't.  
"W-what happened to the trade centers?" Juliette whispered, her voice trembling.  
Peter knelt in front of her and didn't respond right away. "They collapsed, Juliette. Both of them."  
At that, Juliette burst into tears. Katherine put her arms around her, but Juliette shrugged her off. Peter put a hand on her knee. "But there's good news, Jules."  
"Good news? How can there be good news? My father _worked_ there!" she choked out.  
"Not anymore. He's going to have to find another job."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean he made it out alive, Jules. He got word to us this morning and he's okay. Thats why we waited until now to tell you guys, to make sure he was okay. But anyway, he worked on the 15th floor, and he knew the towers would collapse after the planes hit, so he ran down the stairs to each floor and tried to get people to get out. He was about a block away when they fell."  
Juliette breathed a huge sigh of relief and tried to calm down.  
"Can I call him?"  
"No, the phone lines are down in New York, and he didn't leave a number where you could reach him, but he'll call back the first chance he gets."  
Juliette nodded, still recovering.  
"What kind of psycho would do this to us?" Daisy asked.  
"We're not sure who did it, but we're guessing an Afgahnistan terrorist group. If what I've heard is correct, there have been terrorist training camps, preparing for this attack for a long time. The planes were hijacked and more than likely the pilots were killed and the hijackers flew the planes into the towers themselves. Whatever the situation, its horrible.  
"So, you guys, talk to me. Whats on your mind?"  
"All those people who worked in the towers that couldn't get out. Its horrible! I'm really lucky," Juliette said.  
"I feel so bad for those people in the plane. They were victims and they couldn't do anything about it," Auggie said. "Think of how terrified they must have been!"  
"The whole _country_ is the victim," Daisy said.  
"How did the towers fall? I mean, the planes didn't go all the way through the towers did they?" Scott asked.  
"Well, the weight of the whole building relies on the beams on the outside and center. When the planes crashed, they also exploded, and it weakend the structure, so it collapsed."  
"Its so sad. What kind of person would want to hurt so many people like that?" Juliette asked.  
"Someone who doesn't have a heart," Kat said.  
"Well, unless there's anything you want to talk about, you guys are free to go. Classes are cancelled for today. Sophie and I will be in here all day if you want to talk about it, and we'll bring in the TV and you can watch the news to understand what's going on," Peter said. The group got up and started to leave in silence. "Katherine, wait a sec. I need to talk to you."  
Katherine turned around, confused.  
"Do you want me to wait for you?" Juliette asked.  
"No, go on ahead. Thanks, though," Katherine said, and followed Peter and Sophie into his office. Sophie pointed at a chair for her to sit in.  
Katherine had no idea what was going on. Maybe her parents wanted to come in for another visit. She hoped not, she didn't feel far enough along to see them again. Maybe the information from some colleges came in. Maybe...  
  


Please review! I'll have the next part up soon, I hope!


	3. The News

  
Peter and Sophie led Katherine into the office and closed the door after them. Katherine sat in one of the chairs, silent, wondering what was going on. Sophie sat on the edge of the desk and Peter started to pace, but Sophie stopped him. He rubbed his chin and looked like he was thinking about what he was going to say. Peter stood in front of her and suddenly Kat knew what he was going to say.  
"Katherine, there's no easy way to say this. Your parents, they were on one of those planes. It was a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. It was the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center," Peter said softly.  
"No, it couldn't have been them! Why would they be in Boston? We don't know anyone in Boston!"  
"Visiting your great-aunt and uncle."  
"Why were they there? How do you know they were on that flight? They could have gotten on another flight!"  
"Parents are required to call and tell us about trips they go on, in case something happens to one of you, we'll know where to reach them. Your great-aunt was having surgery and your dad said she really wanted him there for it. The surgery was last week and they stayed until she was settled back at home."  
"But how do you know they were on that flight?"  
"We called the airline and they confirmed your parents boarded the flight."  
Katherine stared straight ahead, looking past Peter, not showing any emotion.  
Sophie sat on the edge of the chair and put an arm around her.  
"I don't believe you. I want proof."  
"I can't give you proof, Katherine," he said gently. He knelt down in front of her. "I have never lied to you, Katherine, about anything. I wouldn't lie about this. I know you're shocked; the whole world is. But denying it won't make it any easier. Talk to me, Kat. What do you feel?"  
Kat's eyes started to water and a few tears escaped down her cheek. "Nothing. I don't feel anything!" she jumped up and ran out of the office, out of the lodge, and to the dorm. She stopped short when she entered the dorm and looked around, panting. Nobody was there. She threw herself on her bed and buried her face in her pillow.  
A few minutes later, she heard someone come in, and she quickly wiped her eyes and pulled a random book off her desk and sat up on her bed, pretending to be doing some work out of it.  
It was Juliette. She saw Kat and ran over to her, and sat down next to her.  
"Kat, what happened? I saw you run out of the lodge." she asked. Kat didn't answer. She kept her head down and turned a few pages in her book. "Kat, come on, you can tell me." She put a hand on her shoulder. Kat stopped going through her book and her whole body started to shake. A few tears dropped on her book, and she covered her face with a hand. She looked up at Juliette and saw worry all over her face.  
"Oh, Jules - my parents were on one of the planes!" she choked out. She burst into tears. Juliette put her arms around her, her own eyes filling with tears. For a long time she sat there with Kat, not saying anything, only offering comfort.  
Daisy came in a little later, and Juliette was still sitting with Katherine.  
"What's wrong with her?" Daisy asked.  
"Her parents were on one of the planes," Juliette whispered.  
Daisy came over and sat next to her. "Kat, I'm sorry," she finally said. Kat sat up and nodded a thanks. "Is there anything I can do?"  
"Only if you can rewind time and stop my parents from getting on the plane."  
"If I could do that I would."  
"Maybe you should have read it in your stupid cards!" Kat said, starting to get angry.  
"Kat-" Juliette began.  
"No, Jules. She's angry. If she has to blame me to feel better, I can deal with it."  
"No, Dais, I'm sorry."  
"Don't be."  
She started to cry again. Juliette put her arms around her again.  
Shelby walked in then. "Hey, Kat, I'm so sorry, I just heard." She sat on the bed next to Daisy. "Peter's brought the TV in. He thought you might want to see what happened."  
"Want to see what happened?! Why would I want to see the plane my parents were on, flying into a skyscraper? Why would I want to see it when imagining it is terrifying enough!"  
"If you aren't ready, its okay. It'll probably be on the news for days," Daisy said. "Just give yourself time."  
Kat was quiet for a few minutes. "I need some time to myself," she whispered. Juliette gave her a final hug before they left.  
  


Thats it for this part. Next part probably won't be out for at least 2 weeks. Leave your email if you want me to tell you when I update it.


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